Art Basel Miami has evolved into a cultural magnet over the last two decades, drawing everyone eager to stay up to date on what’s happening in the world of art. SoundCloud’s contribution is Next Wav Miami, our annual music discovery, culture, and community-focused event featuring a full-day of panels, interactive experiences, and live music from some of the hottest emerging artists. Our team took it to the next level at the most recent Next Wav Miami, creating In Conversation With—an interview series featuring artists and creators who participated in the event. In Conversation With aims to understand their approach to making music and how SoundCloud helped them get ahead. We caught up with Armani White, Joe Kay, J.I.D, Smino, KenTheMan, and Hit-Boy, each of whom offered insight into their artistry and the platform’s role in the advancement of their careers.
ARMANI WHITE
The Philly rapper and Def Jam signee speaks about how his musical background guided him to where he’s at today. “I grew up singing, I grew up in the church,” says White, whose biggest song, “Billie Eilish,” has over nine million plays on SoundCloud. “There’s the hype-ass version of me and then there’s the super soulful, melodic version of me. I find ways to tap into both all the time.” But White still remembers his friend getting a microphone for Christmas as one of the turning points in his career, because it led to him uploading his music to the internet.
“I remember I got, like, 10,000 listens on SoundCloud and I was like, ‘Oh nah, I’m famous.'”
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JOE KAY
In addition to performing a DJ set at Next Wav Miami, the Soulection co-founder participated in our “Art of Collaboration” panel, which discussed how various creative disciplines work together and keep things running behind the scenes. During his interview, Kay talks about how far he’s come since he started out trying to break into the music industry as a teenager with a computer, a cheap mixing program, and big dreams. Kay used SoundCloud to grow his audience and is in awe of how the platform opened the door to huge success for himself and others. “We’ve been around since the beginning,” he says.
“Just to see all the great artists, producers, and DJs come out of every era that SoundCloud has had. And just to see these artists develop into some of the biggest artists today, playing the biggest festivals, winning Grammys, going platinum, building their own labels, creating financial literacy—that all started through SoundCloud and promo.”
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J.I.D
The Atlanta rapper explains that he signed with Dreamville Records because they were the first group to truly understand what he was doing and give him a platform to be heard. In a candid interview, J.I.D talks about how his approach to music changed after his first couple of projects, on which he was just trying to get eyes on his work. “Now I actually have something to say,” he says. “We’re into the meat of the essay.” He also credits SoundCloud for planting the flag and creating the space for independent artists to thrive purely through the internet.
“SoundCloud is like one of the first platforms that gave independent artists a platform to put your music out there… you guys were very early with a lot of artists that I’ve grown to love.”
WATCH IN CONVERSATION WITH J.I.D
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KENTHEMAN
Houston rapper KenTheMan, a First on SoundCloud participant, discusses the confidence she gained from her family’s positive affirmation. “I feel like my family has always poured positivity into me to be confident,” she says. “I always say that I feel like the first step to that starts at home with the ones you love and the ones that love you.” But she also gained confidence from utilizing SoundCloud early in her career. KenTheMan didn’t come into the game with any major co-signs, so she had to do it on her own. SoundCloud allowed her to do that, so she recommends sharing the music that you’re confident about with the world, because you never know who’s listening.
“You gotta let the world be the judge, because you just never know what you could do."
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SMINO
The St. Louis native discusses the positive reinforcement he received from his mother and the confidence it imbued him with as an artist. “She don’t ever let you doubt yourself,” he says, adding that he wasn’t allowed to use “can’t” growing up. “She’ll whoop my ass if I act like I’m doubting myself.”
Smino, who grew up playing the drums in church, adds that moving to Chicago, playing his first sold-out show there, and seeing revered rappers like Noname, Mick Jenkins, and Saba in the crowd led to him finally feeling a sense of community among his musical peers. He also touches on his relationship with Denzel Curry, who happens to be his cousin.
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HIT-BOY
Fresh off a string of successful albums with Nas, the rapper and producer is frank about how the acclaim he’s received has opened even more doors for him. “I just see my respect level going to a different stratosphere right now,” he says. Hit-Boy also touches on how SoundCloud helped him build his reputation as a producer, which paved the way for him to work with the likes of Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Justin Bieber, and other top artists.
“SoundCloud was a place that I could just upload my music and people could immediately hear it, and I thought that was ill,” he says. “That’s when I was able to get my deal when I was building myself up as an artist.”
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